Preliminary estimate of spawning frequency and batch fecundity of Brazilian flathead, Percophis brasiliensis, in coastal waters off Buenos Aires Province

Abstract

Spawning frequency and batch fecundity were estimated for Brazilian flathead, Percophis brasiliensis, in Argentine coastal waters. Samples of this species were collected during the spawning period in November 1998 and 1999. Spawning frequency, determined using the percentage of females with postovulatory follicles, was about 17% during November 1998. This percentage indicates that P. brasiliensis spawned, on average, once every 6 days during this month. Batch fecundity, estimated from counts of hydrated oocytes, was fitted to a power function of length and a linear function of ovary-free female weight. Batch fecundity ranged from 37,500 (47 cm total length) to 614,300 (68 cm total length) hydrated oocytes. Relative fecundity estimated for the two years sampled ranged from 95 to 672 hydrated oocytes/g of female weight (ovary-free). Annual differences in the size-batch fecundity relationship and in the relative fecundity were observed.